


You Remind Me of Home

by bayloriffic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-25
Updated: 2012-11-25
Packaged: 2017-11-19 12:45:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/573402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bayloriffic/pseuds/bayloriffic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By the time dinner’s over, Belle has come to three important realizations: 1) She really, really likes hamburgers; 2) She is quite drunk; and 3) She is still completely, hopelessly in love with Rumpelstiltskin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Remind Me of Home

When Belle arrives at Granny’s -- almost half an hour early for her seven o’clock maybe-date for hamburgers with Rumpelstiltskin -- the sky is dark and foreboding, threatening rain.

Belle looks around the busy diner, feeling nervous and a little out of sorts. She hasn’t really seen Rumpelstiltskin since that morning at the library and she’s not quite sure what the protocol is for possibly dating someone who you’ve both already admitted you loved and then told you never wanted to see again. And then practically immediately invited out to dinner.

Plus, she’s still not one hundred percent sure she meant for this to be a date. She’s also not sure she meant for it to be a not-a-date either, so. She’s spent most of her afternoon prepping for the ambiguity.

Either way, she’s early and Rumpel hasn’t yet arrived, so she takes a deep breath and walks over to where Ruby’s drying glasses behind the counter.

“Hey,” Ruby says smiling and handing Belle a laminated menu.

“I need two, actually,” Belle says, trying to sound nonchalant.

She must not be very successful, because Ruby raises her eyebrows and gives her a knowing look as she hands her the second menu.

“There’s an open booth in the back,” Ruby tells her. “Private, if...you know. You’re looking for something like that.”

Belle smiles her thanks and then heads over to the back of the diner, sitting down so that she’s facing the door. She glances up at the clock over the counter and then busies herself by perusing the menu, which she doesn’t actually need to do since she’s committed to that hamburger. But at least it gives her something to do other than obsessively watch the door.

A few minutes later, Ruby's at the table. "An iced tea?" she asks, already writing it down.

"Do you have anything stronger?" Belle asks. She's already hopped on nervous energy, so caffeine and sugar are probably the last things that she needs.

Ruby grins and says, “Of course. What would you like?”

Belle bites her lower lip, unsure. Finally: “Something sweet?”

Ruby laughs. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She’s back at the table five minutes later, a tall glass of something that looks suspiciously like regular old iced tea in one hand, but which Ruby assures her is much, much stronger and from someplace called Long Island.

Belle smiles her thanks and takes a sip, trying not to watch the door to anxiously.

*

Rumpelstiltskin is late.

By the time seven o'clock rolls around, he's still not there. Belle’s gotten through one of the strange teas Ruby brought her and is starting on her second, everything around her taking on a soft, hazy edge. She’s trying hard not to stare at the door, but there’s not many other places to look.

Outside, the rain has started, and Ruby keeps shooting her sympathetic glances from behind the counter.

Finally, at a quarter past, the bell over the door rings and Rumpel walks in. His hair is wet from the rain and he’s holding a small red-flowered plant in one hand, the other holding tightly onto his cane. There’s already a small puddle of water pooling at his feet, and he looks especially annoyed, scowling as he slides his sopping wet overcoat off his shoulders.

But when he sees Belle, he smiles like he means it, his face softening in a way that makes her heart start skipping in her chest.

He heads over to her booth in the back, and Belle slides out, standing up to greet him. They do a kind of awkward shuffle where she sort of hugs him, sort of kisses him on the cheek. He half-hugs, half-kisses her back, and if she didn’t know any better, she’d swear he was blushing.

“This is for you,” he tells her, handing her the plant. It’s a miniature rose bush, the flowers tiny, perfect replicas of the standard large blooms.

“Thank you,” she says, taking the gift from him and feeling like she’s probably matching him, blush for blush. “It’s lovely.”

“You’re quite welcome, my dear.”

They sit on opposite sides of the booth, neither one saying anything else. Luckily, Ruby arrives just a moment later, asking him what he wants to drink. He orders a whiskey and then they lapse into silence again, not sure what to say.

She can’t seem to stop looking at the roses, so small and delicate. She leans in, smelling the sweet richness of the flowers. Rumpelstiltskin watches her carefully, not saying anything as she examines the plant.

“Ready to order?” Ruby asks, sidling back up to the booth and handing Rumpel his drink. She’s got her order pad in her hand and a curious glint in her eye.

“Yes,” Belle says, handing her the menu. “I would like a hamburger.”

Rumpel grins. “As would I.”

While they wait for their food, Belle tells him all about the library -- the children’s section she’s been working on and the new selection of books she’s got on order. For his part, Rumpelstiltskin listens quietly, occasionally asking her questions about one plan or another she’s got in mind for the grand opening the next week.

As she talks, Belle can’t help but notice that the other people in the diner keep shooting them glances, looking at them sidelong, like they’re not sure what’s happening, like maybe Belle needs their help.

“People are looking at us,” she finally whispers, leaning over the table a little so he can hear her.

Rumpel gives her a half-smile, the light catching the gold in his mouth and making his smile gleam. He reaches over touches her hand, his fingers just lightly grazing the edge of her wrist, and Belle’s stomach flips.

“Probably trying to decide if you need rescuing,” he says, only sounding slightly sarcastic.

“Ready to save me from the beastly Mr. Gold?” she teases, smiling at him to make sure he knows it’s a joke. 

Under the table, her foot brushes up against his, and Belle nudges it slightly, knocking her ankle against his.

When he nudges her back, the flip in her stomach turns into a full on flutter.

Belle takes another drink and tries hard not to smile too wide as Ruby comes over with their dinner.

*

By the time dinner’s over, Belle has come to three important realizations: 1) She really, really likes hamburgers; 2) She is quite drunk; and 3) She is still completely, hopelessly in love with Rumpelstiltskin.

She manages to slide out of the booth without too much trouble, but when she gets to her feet, she stumbles a little.

“Easy, dearie,” he says, steadying her with one slightly calloused hand.

She holds onto his arm, the two of them walking carefully towards the door. Outside, the rain has stopped, but it’s still wet and slick, and she leans on him as they navigate the wet streets, pressing close against his side.

The air is colder now, and Belle shivers slightly.

“Here,” Rumpel says, sliding his coat off and draping it around her shoulders. The jacket smells like him, like expensive wood and magic and home.

He’s warm and solid against her, and it’s times like this when Belle can almost forget about all of the horrible things that have happened, about the strangeness of her reality now. So she wraps his jacket around her more tightly and leans against him, as close as she can get.

When he steers them towards the library she pulls up short, almost making them both fall.

“Where are we going?” she demands.

“I’m walking you home, of course,” he says, like it should be completely obvious. And maybe it should, but her head is still buzzing a little from the alcohol and he’s so warm compared to the cold emptiness of her apartment above the library.

“I want to go home,” she tells him seriously.

“That’s where I’m taking you, love,” he says, brows knit in confusion.

Her heart skips at the endearment, but she can’t help the bit of frustration that she feels. The apartment above the library is fine -- small and cozy -- but she doesn’t feel comfortable there. It’s too quiet and too lonely, far removed from the large drafty castle she imagines whenever she thinks about home.

“No,” she tells him, reaching over to tug gently on his tie, pulling him so that they’re cheek to cheek. “Take me home.”

He starts, pulling back a little. “Belle,” he says, trailing off and searching her face.

The look on his face is the same one that he used to get back at the castle, the one he would get when she would smile at him or speak to him with kindness, the look that makes her heart break just a little.

“Please,” she says, kissing him softly on the corner of him mouth. “Please, Rumpelstiltskin.”

He sighs, his breath warm against her face, but he turns, moving them away from the library and towards the nicest part of town, towards the street with his big pink house.

Belle smiles and laces her fingers through his, pressing their palms together and looking up at the clear, bright stars in the darkness above them. In her other hand, she holds tightly on to her plant of tiny, perfect roses.

*

They get to his house, which is dark and silent, and just looking at the place makes Belle feel happy and safe.

Rumpel’s been quiet almost the entire walk home, but every time Belle looks at him, he’s got a small smile on his face.

“Here we are,” he says. “Home sweet home.”

She follows him inside, looking around curiously. It looks just as it did a few weeks ago, down to the vases of roses that stand on tables all around the room. Of course, the roses have dried up; the dead leaves litter the table and the flowers have turned black and musty.

He must see her looking at them because he clears his throat and looks away.

“It’s so hard to find good help in this world, dearie,” he says after a couple of seconds, with something like his old rancor. But he’s still not looking at her, and Belle can’t help but roll her eyes as she nudges her shoulder against his.

“I missed you, too, Rumpelstiltskin,” she says sincerely.

She moves the dead flowers out of the way, replacing them carefully with her new small plant.

“Much better,” she says.

“Indeed.”

She can tell he’s trying not to smile, but one corner of his mouth is quirked up a bit.

Her head still feels pleasantly fuzzy and she’s still wearing his coat, the scent of him everywhere around her.

When she kisses him, it’s like her heart feels like it might beat right out of her chest.

*

They end up on the sofa in his living room, Belle sprawled ungracefully beneath him as he kneels above her, his bad leg cushioned against the back of the sofa.

He kisses her desperately, his tongue in her mouth and one knee pressed between her thighs. Belle wraps her arms around him, cupping the back of his neck with one hand as she kisses him back, just as desperately.

It's times like these that she can't help but think about how they’ve been trapped away from each other for twenty-eight years, both of them isolated and alone, about how they've been denied this for almost three decades. But right now, he's all around her, tasting of whiskey and rain and smelling faintly of straw. He slides the jacket off her her shoulders, running his hands along the bare skin of her arms.

“Belle,” he says, sounding reverent, like her name is an incantation, a prayer. Like he can’t believe this is actually how things are now. Belle knows the feeling.

She looks up at him in the half-darkness. Some of the lights from the street filter in through the stained-glass windows in his living room, making rainbow-colored shadows play over him, a kaleidoscope of colors on his skin.

It makes him look supernatural, something other than human, and Belle presses her body closer against his, relishing the feel of his hardness against her hip and kissing him like it’s the only thing that will save her.

*

They try to take it slow, but they’re only marginally successful.

Even after living together for a few weeks, everything between them still feels raw and new, and Belle can tell that Rumpel’s trying not to push things too far, too fast.

For her part, Belle’s not too worried about anything going too fast. She’s spent decades alone and untouched, and as she works the buttons of his shirt open, all she wants is to feel his skin against hers.

He takes his time, though, teasing her with his fingers and his tongue and kissing her until she can hardly breathe.

By the time he slides into her, Belle’s already trembling beneath him, everything in her feeling ready and bright and alive.

*

When she wakes up, the first thing Belle sees are the miniature roses, small and red and perfect in the early morning light.

Rumpelstiltskin is pressed up close against her back, one arm draped around her waist, his fingers grazing the bare skin of her stomach.

She blinks into the bright morning sunlight, concentrating on the solid reality of his body against hers and, for the first time in what seems like forever, Belle feels like she’s home.


End file.
